The Holiday Escapes Collection. Sandra Marton

the fabric of her dress possessively before he reached behind her for her zip and lowered it. The feel of his hands on the naked skin of her back was intoxicating, every pore of her skin tensing in delight as he brought his hands around to where her breasts were aching for his touch.

      Her dress fell in a pool at her feet, leaving her with nothing but her knickers and thigh-high stockings and heels, her whole body quivering in anticipation as he reached beneath the damp lace of her underwear to stroke her intimately.

      ‘You want me,’ he said in a husky tone, his dark eyes glittering with victory. ‘You can deny it all you like, but your body speaks for you.’

      Charlotte couldn’t see any point in denying it now. Her whole body arched to bring his fingers deeper but it still wasn’t enough. She threw her head back and gave a whimpering groan as his fingers began to massage the wet swollen bud of her femininity with devastating expertise. She could feel the tension building all through her body until her mind switched off and she became conscious of nothing but the spiralling sensations his masterful touch was evoking. She felt the first flicker and then the full-on rush of feeling as the spasms took hold, rocking her body against his hand, her hips undulating with the sheer force of trying to hold on to that exquisite feeling for as long as she could.

      Her whole body sagged against the wall when it was over, her legs feeling as if they were going to fold beneath her.

      Shame coursed through her like a hot red tide when Damon stepped back from her. Whatever desire he had felt was now gone. She could see the disdain in his eyes as they raked her slumped form and she inwardly cringed at her appalling lack of control.

      She rustled up a tattered remnant of pride and, affecting a sultry expression, met his gaze. ‘What’s wrong, Damon? Not feeling up to it again tonight? I thought you had more stamina.’

      His mouth tightened. ‘I do not intend to sleep with you again until we are married.’

      Her eyes flashed back at him defiantly. ‘I don’t intend to sleep with you at all, married or not!’

      His lip curled as his gaze ran over her half-naked form. ‘I can have you whenever I like. I just proved it.’

      ‘You proved nothing but what an unscrupulous man you are,’ she spat back.

      He stepped towards her again, his arms locking hers above her head. ‘You like to brandish those insults of yours around, don’t you? But I should warn you that once we are married you will have to tame that tongue of yours or you will regret it.’

      ‘How are you going to make me regret it, Damon?’ She threw his own words back at him, her taunting tone setting off a blazing inferno in his eyes as they clashed with hers.

      She sucked in a little breath as his hands pulled her from where she was pressed up against the wall, her body slamming into the tempting heat of his.

      ‘I will teach you to bend to my will if it’s the last thing I do,’ he growled.

      ‘Then you’re going to have one hell of a fight on your hands,’ she warned him with a lift of her chin.

      His eyes warred with hers, his jaw so tight she could hear his teeth grinding together.

      The tension was like an electric current zinging in the air. The scent of his arousal was there too, teasing her nostrils until she felt as if she was breathing him into the secret depths of her body.

      His eyes burned into hers as he pulled her towards the huge bed, his free hand undoing his belt, his shoes thudding to the floor as he pressed her down on the mattress, his weight pinning her beneath him.

      ‘Is this what you want?’ he asked, releasing himself, the hard probe of his erect body already sinking into her wet warmth.

      Charlotte gasped as he drove forward with a deep thick thrust, her inner muscles grabbing at him greedily, wanting all of him, again and again. Her hands clawed at him, holding him, caressing him, stroking him until he let out a deep primal groan as he sank even further into her warmth, his movements quickening as the pressure built.

      His pace was almost too hard and too fast but somehow she kept up, her body responding without restraint, her soft but frantic cries making her pant as she felt herself climbing to the summit again.

      Damon lifted his mouth off hers and forced her chin up so that she met his eyes. ‘Look at me,’ he demanded hoarsely.

      Her eyes skirted away from his but he wouldn’t allow it. ‘Look at me, damn you! I want you to see what you do to me, what you have always done to me.’

      ‘You hate yourself for it, though, don’t you, Damon?’ she asked a little breathlessly as his hard body thrust deeply and determinedly into hers. ‘You want me even though you hate me.’

      ‘The less said about my feelings towards you right now the better,’ he said, and with one last powerful thrust he triggered her release with the mind-blowing explosion of his own.

      Charlotte lay in the tight circle of his arms, her heart still racing as the aftershocks of pleasure filtered through her body. She could feel the deep thud of his heart against her breast and his uneven breathing against the soft skin of her neck. She wanted to say something but for the life of her couldn’t think of how to break the awkward silence. She felt so ashamed of her weakness; she had practically begged him to make love to her again.

      She felt him roll away and turned her head to see him put his hand up over his eyes as if warding off a nasty headache. She watched as his chest rose and fell in a sigh before he removed his hand and turned his head to look at her.

      ‘I am sorry, Charlotte,’ he said in a gruff tone. ‘That was not meant to happen, or at least not like that.’

      She gave him an ironic look. ‘I thought that was why you paid me in the first place. Wasn’t that the deal? I was to become your paid mistress for the period of time you’re here?’

      A dull flush appeared along his sharp cheekbones. ‘I did not know then that you were the mother of my child,’ he said.

      She raised her brows expressively. ‘So that makes it somehow different, does it?’

      ‘You know it does.’

      She got off the bed and scooped her clothing off the floor, dressing again with angry, agitated movements. She pulled the hair out of the back of her dress once she had zipped it back up and glared at him.

      ‘You’re a hypocrite, Damon. You were content to employ me as your mistress when it suited you but now you want me to be a faithful, obedient wife.’

      He got off the bed and reached for a robe. ‘You will be my wife, Charlotte,’ he said, tying the ends together almost viciously. ‘But, as to whether you will be faithful and obedient, that remains to be seen.’

      ‘How will you explain this to your mother?’ she asked. ‘I can imagine she’s going to be rather shocked that you lowered yourself to marry the hired help.’

      ‘She will understand my motivation to protect my daughter at whatever cost.’

      ‘But what about the cost to me?’ she asked. ‘You’re asking me to walk away from my life here.’

      ‘As far as I can see it, your life here consists of juggling a career and a child and the consequences of the criminal behaviour of your sister. You will be much better out of it. As my wife you will have everything money can buy. Emily will not only have the benefit of two parents, but she will also have the devotion of her grandmother.’

      ‘You think by waving your wallet around you can have anything you like, don’t you?’

      His eyes glittered as they clashed with hers. ‘I bought you, did I not?’

      She drew in a sharp little breath, her blue eyes flashing with spite. ‘Then I hope you enjoyed this evening, for it’s not going to happen again.’

      ‘It will happen again, Charlotte, for you cannot help yourself. We are